Winning awards isn’t new for the Drake Oak Brook Hotel.
But the recent news of being voted one of the best hotels in the world by Condé Nast Traveler, a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast, has taken the accolades to a new level.
The Drake Oak Brook Hotel was voted No. 2 in the Midwest, No. 11 in the United States and No. 47 in the world in the Condé Nast Traveler 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards.
“The other awards we have won have been exciting, but this one is really extra special because it’s the gold standard,” said Jim Nagle, who along with his wife, Tely, purchased the Drake in 2013 and reopened it two years later.
While the Nagles certainly are entitled to bask in the kudos for their hotel, Jim Nagle gives most of the credit to the approximately 120 employees who work at the Drake.
“Our team really is the reason for this,” he said. “We always have people who stay here commenting about their wonderful experiences with our team. You can have a beautiful hotel, but it really is having a great team that makes things special.”
The commitment to excellence from the Drake team likely stems from the loyalty the Nagles showed employees when the coronavirus pandemic shut the hotel industry down in March 2020, a month after the Drake Oak Brook Hotel received designation as part of the Autograph Collection, a group of independent upper-upscale to…
